In sports news this Monday: Sparta and Plzeň clinch important wins in
football’s Europa League while at home, three teams are tied on top spot
in the Gambrinus Liga; in hockey, Jaromír Jágr’s Kladno draws all-time
record attendance and Chomutov apologize for racist fans; and in tennis,
the Czech pair Hlaváčková, Hradecká lose in the final of WTA
Championships in Instabul.

Football: Sparta, Plzeň win in Europa League

Sparta Prague - Kiryat Shmona, photo: CTK
Both Czech football clubs that are taking part in this season’s Europa
League have earned important victories. In Group I, Sparta Prague defeated
Israel’s Kiryat Shmona 3:1 in the Czech capital on Thursday. Sparta’s
Ladislav Krejčí and Václav Kadlec put the hosts two goals up in the
opening ten minutes, and Ondřej Švendík added a header to give Sparta a
3:0 lead. That proved too much for the Israeli side although Shimon
Abuhazira scored in the 76th minute to give the visitors a consolation
goal. After three games, Sparta are ranked second in their group with 6
points, trailing Lyon by three points.

Sparta have a good chance of advancing from the group but captain Marek
Matějovský says they need to keep things ‘down to earth’.

“We’re off to a good start in our group but there are three more
matches to be played and anything can happen. We have to be humble in the
coming games, just like we have been, but I think our coach is good at
that. We will do our best to advance from the group which I would consider
a great success.”

For their part, Viktoria Plzeň beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 2:1 in Israel on
Thursday, in Europa League’s Group B. Plzeň were one down thanks to
Hanan Maman’s opener but came back when captain Pavel Horváth equalized
in the first half extra time. 10 minutes into the second half, the visiting
side’s František Rajtoral scored the winning goal. Plzeň, too, look to
advance from their group as they are on second place with six points, three
points behind leaders Atlético Madrid.

In Gambrinus liga, three teams tied at top

Jablonec - Slavia Prague, photo: CTK
Meanwhile, three teams are tied at the top of the Czech top division.
Jablonec, in first place, drew 0:0 against Slavia in the Gambrinus liga’s
latest round, while Sparta beat reigning champions Liberec 2:1 and moved up
to second place on goal difference. Sigma Olomouc failed to move to the top
when they tied with Teplice 1:1 on Sunday, and are third. Viktoria Plzeň.
in fourth place, trail the leading trio by four points.

Hockey: Jágr’s Kladno set all-time attendance record against Kometa

Jaromír Jágr, photo: CTK
Moving on to hockey now where Kladno with Jaromír Jágr in their ranks
set an all-time attendance record for the top hockey league. Tuesday’s
game between Kladno and Kometa Brno, another team with a strong fan base,
drew 17,182 spectators into Prague’s O2 arena, the biggest crowd in
history. However, Jágr’s magic failed to work on the ice as Kometa won
4:2. Jaromír Jágr took the defeat philosophically.

“You have to experience such games as well to move ahead in one way or
another. It’s always easier to enjoy a game in which you are leading
instead of having to suffer through the match, making sure you don’t lose
by a higher margin. But Kometa played better today and deserved to win.”

But on Friday, Jágr was back in full form and his team beat Vítkovice
4:1 while on Sunday, Kladno earned another win against Sparta Prague. The
league table is topped by Plzeň, followed by Kometa Brno and Kladno.

Chomutov condemn racist abuse of Liberec player

Wayne Simmonds, photo: CTK
In other extraliga news, the Chomutov Pirates have distanced themselves
from racist abuse of Canadian player Wayne Simmonds which occurred during
Sunday’s game against Liberec. Some Chomutov fans targeted the right
wing, who is of black descent, by making monkey noises at him and calling
him names. The club also issued an apology to the Canadian, who plays for
the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL and joined Liberec for the duration of
the lockout.

Tennis: Hlaváčková, Hradecká lose WTA Championships final

In tennis, the Czech pair of Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká
reached the doubles final at the WTA Championships in Istanbul but stopped
short of winning the season-ending event when they lost to Russia’s Maria
Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-4. The Istanbul final was the fifth this
season in which the Czech team suffered defeat. Meanwhile, defending
champion Petra Kvitová quit the tournament for health reasons, hoping she
would be fit for the upcoming Fed Cup finals against Serbia.